BERLIN (Der Spiegel) -- Reports keep coming in of covert CIA flights through Europe that carry terrorist suspects to places where torture is legal. A German paper reports that they haven't stopped, which could be awkward for Angela Merkel if she wants to make nice with Washington. Also, ex-Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet celebrates an unhappy birthday, and the EU accuses Israel of stonewalling in Jerusalem.

The Berliner Zeitung reported that American airbases in Germany had been used as pit stops for at least six secret flights, including the two most high-profile missions in the unfolding story of so-called "extraordinary renditions."

For some time it's been suspected that a high-profile terrorist named Abu Omar -- spirited off the streets of Milan by CIA agents in early 2003, according to criminal charges in an Italian court -- was transferred from one plane to another at the Ramstein base, en route to Cairo.

This week the Berlin paper reported that a Hercules C-130 landed at Frankfurt around the same time, refueled, and took off for Baku, Azerbaijan. That flight led to an official complaint from Vienna after it showed up unexpectedly on Austrian radar.

● Dutch FM Bernhard Bot Threatens Condoleezza Rice
● EU Countries Could Lose Voting Rights

≈ Cross-posted from my diary ::
EU Gets Tough on CIA Torture Flights ¶ "Guten Tag Washington" ≈